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1921 Payment for Babe Ruth Letter to Boston Red Sox Treasurer from The New York Yankees (ex-Barry Halper Collection)
<p>One-page typed letter, dated "Chicago Jan 13th. 1921" on Cort Theatre (Chicago) letterhead, relating to the Boston Red Sox' sale of Babe Ruth's contract to the New York Yankees in 1919. The heading to this unsigned letter reads "New York American League Base Ball Club./To,/Cort Theatre Co. Dr." The text refers to the third and final note issued by the Yankees to the Red Sox as part of he purchase of Ruth's contract: "One years interest on your note of $25,000 due Nov. 1st 1922 to the Boston American League Base Ball Club - A/C Ruth - interest .06% to Nov. 1st. 1920 - $1,500" An instruction at the base the letter reads "Please send this to U. J. Herrmann. Cort Theatre, Chicago, Ill." The letter (8.5x11" - displays two horizontal folds and a few light creases. In Very Good to Excellent condition overall. </p><p>Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee was a theatrical impresario and owned the Cort Theatre in Chicago. U. J. Herrmann also pulled double duty, serving as the treasurer for both the Red Sox and the Cort Theatre. When the Yankees purchased Ruth's contract from the Red Sox in 1919, the purchase price was $100,000. $25,000 was paid in cash and the remainder was to be paid in yearly installments of $25,000, with each note due on November 1st of 1920, 1921, and 1922, respectively. This letter makes specific reference to the third note due in 1922, as well as the interest due: $1,500. </p><p>This document, along with nearly every other surviving document relating to the sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, originates from the estate of Ed Barrow, who was manager of the Boston Red Sox at the time of the transaction, and soon after became the longtime business manager/general manager of the New York Yankees. Many years after Barrow's death, legendary collector Barry Halper purchased his entire business archive from the Barrow family, which included dozens of documents relating to Boston's historic sale of Ruth. (Barry Halper's collection is considered by many to have been the finest private baseball-memorabilia collection ever assembled.) In 1999, Halper sold nearly his entire collection at auction through Sotheby's in New York (the collection was so vast that it took over a week of twice-daily live auctions and three months of weekly internet sales to liquidate it). Lot 560 in the live-auction portion of the sale featured a large collection of documents relating to the sale of Ruth, from which this document, as well as every other "sale of Ruth" document featured in this auction, originates. The document remains housed in its original sleeve bearing the Sotheby's lot label.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p>
Past Sports Card, Memorabilia, Non-Sports Card and Collecitble Auction Items
Other past auction items that may be of interest to you.
February 25, 1920, Colonel Tillinghast Huston Handwritten Letter to Jacob Ruppert Regarding The Sale of Babe Ruth - From The Barry Halper Collection (PSA)
Barry Halper's "Copy" of the 1919 Babe Ruth Sale to New York Yankees Contract (ex-Barry Halper Collection)
Historic December 26th, 1919, Jacob Ruppert Sale of Babe Ruth Letter to Harry Frazee the Day Yankees and Red Sox Owners Agreed to Terms - Ruppert Loans Frazee $300,000 for Fenway Park Mortgage (ex-Barry Halper Collection)
Tentative Payment Schedule of Notes for Babe Ruth (ex-Barry Halper Collection)
December 30th, 1919, Colonel Huston Letter "Consummating a Certain Important Base Ball Deal" aka The Babe Ruth Sale (ex-Barry Halper Collection)
1920 Harry Frazee Promissory Note Directly Relating to the Sale of Babe Ruth (ex-Barry Halper Collection)
December 26th, 1919, Promissory Note from Yankees Co-Owner Colonel Tillinghast Huston to Boston Red Sox for The Sale of Babe Ruth - The Day Yankees & Red Sox Agree to Terms (ex-Barry Halper Collection)
